You've seen them on message boards, forums, blogs, IRC, and fucking MySpace, but a semi-respectable tech site interview is an unlikely place for an anti-DRM advocate. We've all read about the filthy hippies running Defective By Design, but those nerds didn't have anything to do with Pink Floyd or The Rolling Stones. Nor do they have a clear idea of what they're doing. So when The Register runs a Peter Jenner claiming that the major four music labels are "fucked," a few more people listen. That's good.

One of the primary reasons we're not seeing anything done about DRM is nobody knows about it. I mean yeah, you're here, but your mom and pa aren't coming by the site later to read about why DRM sucks my ass (although passing along the link is not discouraged). The Register isn't exactly Reader's Digest, but hopefully this opens a few more eyes to the dangers of this kind of control. There is no other industry I can think of that demands the consumer to give up so much freedom over the product. Can you imagine the outrage if every new couch was built to spontaneously combust if the company who built it went out of business? Or worse yet, what if Sony brand condoms infected the wearer with the bubonic plague just for a laugh. There would be riots.

Jenner speaks for those with a brain when he claims digital music pricing has been a scam where the consumer pays for manufacturing and distribution, when neither of those are done anymore. Ten years ago a 'single' required physical material and distribution by vehicle to get it to you. Now it's technically possible to finish the song in the studio and upload it to a server across the planet, without ever having to create packaging or pay for shipping. And you still pay one dollar a song. And the artist still only gets between 8 and 14 cents of that dollar, depending on their status with the label. If you're trying to support an up-and-coming act, you're currently better off burning a DRM-free copy of the album and mailing the artist a dollar. You're cutting out the greedy ass middle-man, and you don't have to worry about the CD infecting your computer with a virus.

The remainder of Jenner's interview is spent discussing his blanket-licensing model for countries to adopt, and it's a pretty sound idea. It's similar to the system we have here in Canada where we pay levies on blank media, but with Jenner's model there's no product involved, and everyone just pays a small monthly fee. This money is pooled and distributed according to artist market share, which will be tricky to figure out. The plan involves a lot less money for the labels, which partly backs his prediction of their doomed future. Another aspect of the plan (which I love) is to bring the musicians closer to the fans. By offering multiple recordings of hit songs, live cuts, and behind-the-scenes concert footage to fans, artists can tap those who would pay for such items. Everyone knows one person who owns everything The Radio-Head have ever sold, and this plan opens that level of fandom to all artists. I just hope it's not too late for K-Fed.

As a rule, I generally try to not get too blog-like on your asses, but some scenes have to be set using the simplest, most conversational tone. When I was six years old, I pestered my parents to send away an enrollment form and a little bit of cash to pay for my membership in the KISS Army. Although I started listening to music from an early age, KISS was the first band I held dear to my thin chest and ribcage and regarded as "my band." For my part, I received many treasures from this inclusive club — newsletters, badges, photos, and the like. However, the most important prize was an iron-on decal that came to the mailbox one day. I immediately got my mom to affix it to a shirt and consequently wore the thing out.

Do you want a less heartfelt and much sadder story? Before I was lucky enough to have that homemade t-shirt, I actually went and had another one made at the local flea market, "Shirt Stop." It was pumpkin orange with dark blue fuzzy-felt letters that simply stated "I LIKE KISS." Can you imagine? Well, you don't have to because the photo is to your left. Good grief man, if I had any credibility before (not likely), this posed picture of yours truly, bowl-cut intact, grinning like a jackass, proudly displaying said stupid t-shirt while perched on my Dad's knee, sure as hell seals the deal!

As embarrassed as I am of this, I've never been shy about confessing my allegiance to early-period KISS. I have had no problems mostly avoiding the band's past 25 years — including many awful group and four simultaneously-released solo efforts, the movie KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park (which rules, actually), "unmasking", endless reunion tours, current reality show madness, co-writing songs with Michael Bolton, his and hers fragrance lines, the KISS Coffeehouse, and the boning of 20,000+ groupies — but still love the vintage, raw nuggets contained on those first few albums by New York's finest. Make no mistake, I know that KISS are all about the sell and very little about the music, but that's no reason not to be pumped about the release of KISSology Volume One: 1974-1977 this past Halloween (when else?). Needless to say, this DVD is going to be awesome when I get my hands on it. The two-disc set (three-discs in limited quantities and certain locations) covers the band's nascent years and apparently features the stuff that all good music DVDs should: loads of archival television appearances, four full concerts (San Francisco '75, Detroit '76, Tokyo '76, and Houston '77), interviews, and rare, unreleased footage including, among other things, a performance by the band at Ace Frehley's wedding in 1976. Bring on the bliss!

So, friends, have pity on the cherubic lame-ass in the photo, and trust me on this one. When it comes to KISS, you can take my words to the bank.

Hey, what are those things that everyone is carrying around on the train? I heard someone call it an "iPod," is that right? Apparently they're popular. I thought those white things were just fancy candy bars! Sweet, delicious candy bars wrapped in a 21st century tech-savvy wrapper with a new chocolate delivery system that pumps it right into the ear canal. Boy was I wrong!

Now, I'm not a total dummy. I thought something was off in my analysis of the device. But, I thought, c'est la vie! People want chocolate in their ears, let 'em have it! They wanted it in their mouths all these years, those holes and tubes all go down somehow, who was I to judge? Eventually I realized that, hey, maybe this isn't candy, and, hey, where can I get one?

Apparently you can get them everywhere. 8,729,000 iPods were shipped in the fourth quarter alone! The ubiquitous little devices are selling like the poor man's pancakes (hot cakes). 39 million were bought over the whole year. That's a lot of hot cakes! So I thought, "Okay, iPod, I'll bite." And I did. Hard. Chipped a tooth and ruined the device.

Round two. I bought another one. 180 GB. GB must stand for Great Buy because boy was it ever! And Salesman Ted was real nice. Even though the unknown company that makes the iPod made a profit of $546 million in the fourth quarter of our fiscal year, they don't act like it. Sure, $10 billion in annual profits could go to a guy's head, but not Salesman Ted's! Once I got it, I started fiddling around with the thing... it's a DAT player! I love DAT tapes. So I tried to put one in, but there was no hole. Not even a slot. The thing was defective. So, DAT-less, I returned it.

Needless to say, I was pretty upset. All that time, money, and energy wasted, and I wanted answers. So I looked up who makes the player. Turns out it's made by some company that sells apples! No wonder it didn't work! You can't stick a DAT in an apple, how can they expect us to put one in these pods? I guess everyone is just too embarrassed to return theirs, but not me. They even sold 5.3 million Macintosh "computers" (new breed of apple) this quarter. They sure do love those apples. And for the record, it's a bushel, not a pod. What a company!

P.J. Harvey has released a B-sides compilation album called The Peel Sessions. These are recordings from broadcaster John Peel's BBC radio show dating from 1991 to 2004. The album serves as a tribute to the late legendary John Peel, who some people might compare to Rodney Bingenheimer, except more English and less flamboyant. John Peel introduced many underground bands such as The Smiths, The Fall, and New Order into the mainstream. He also served as navigator to the now-deceased pirate radio station, Radio London. John Peel made quite an impact on PJ Harvey's life as a friend and mentor; "Throughout my time of knowing him we kept in touch and sent postcards. Whenever I demo'd a new record I'd send it to him. I always wanted to know his opinion on things because I think he had really great taste." The Peel Sessions was recently released on the second-year anniversary of his death, October 25. He died in Cuzco, Peru alongside his wife. What a way to go.

In other news, P.J. Harvey has begun working with Flood and John Parish to create her new album a la manage a troi; no, that's not what it's called, but it would be interesting. The album will be more piano-based, and hopefully P.J. Harvey will roll around on top of it pulling her hair out. Release date for this album is not available.